Burglars stop play as footballers targeted

Burglars snatched hundreds of pounds worth of mobile phones, cash and bank cards from a changing room on playing fields in South Staffordshire as footballers warmed up for their match.

The Wyrley Juniors match had to be postponed when players discovered the brazen raiders had ransacked the building and fled with their haul before the game had even kicked off. The burglars struck at the away team's changing rooms in Long Lane, Essington.

Wyrley Juniors were due to play AFC Smethwick in only the second fixture of the West Midlands Regional League season.

Wyrley manager Phil McGuinness said the two teams were returning to the changing rooms after the warm-up when they noticed raiders had ransacked the away hutch.

The teams arrived for the game on Saturday at around 2.15pm before changing and heading out to the pitch. The thieves struck in the next half-hour.

Wyrley Juniors FC, which has 45 teams from across the West Midlands and Staffordshire including Cannock, Wednesfield, Walsall and West Bromwich, was forced to install extra CCTV to protect its new £1.15million community clubhouse earlier this year.

The building, still under construction, was targeted by yobs in a spate of break-ins after builders started the project in January. In one raid a dumper truck was taken from the compound and driven into a canal.

Then vandals broke into the site and cut main electricity cables, taking power out at the site and also the neighbouring Teddy Bears children's nursery.